U.S. patent number 9,830,364 [Application Number 15/028,093] was granted by the patent office on 2017-11-28 for weight based visual communication of items representing process control objects in a process control system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to ABB Research Ltd. The grantee listed for this patent is ABB RESEARCH LTD. Invention is credited to Fredrik Alfredsson, Jonas Bronmark, Magnus Larsson, Elina Vartiainen.
United States Patent |
9,830,364 |
Alfredsson , et al. |
November 28, 2017 |
Weight based visual communication of items representing process
control objects in a process control system
Abstract
A method, item communication arrangement and a computer program
product communicate items representing process control objects to a
user of a wireless terminal in a process control system. The
arrangement includes an item communication control unit providing
the items representing process control objects and configured to
continuously determine weights of the items and visually
communicate items to the user via the wireless terminal in an order
defined by the weights of the items. The weight of an item is
determined based on an item selection pattern of the user.
Inventors: |
Alfredsson; Fredrik (Vasteras,
SE), Vartiainen; Elina (Vasteras, SE),
Bronmark; Jonas (Vasteras, SE), Larsson; Magnus
(Vasteras, SE) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ABB RESEARCH LTD |
Zurich |
N/A |
CH |
|
|
Assignee: |
ABB Research Ltd (Zurich,
CH)
|
Family
ID: |
49510157 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/028,093 |
Filed: |
October 28, 2013 |
PCT
Filed: |
October 28, 2013 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/EP2013/072506 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
April 08, 2016 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2015/062622 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
May 07, 2015 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20160246793 A1 |
Aug 25, 2016 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W
4/38 (20180201); G06F 3/0482 (20130101); H04L
67/12 (20130101); H04W 4/029 (20180201); H04B
7/26 (20130101); H04W 4/80 (20180201); H04W
4/18 (20130101); G05B 19/042 (20130101); G06F
16/248 (20190101); G06F 16/29 (20190101); H04W
4/023 (20130101); G06F 3/04847 (20130101); G06F
16/24578 (20190101); H04W 84/12 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
17/30 (20060101); H04B 7/26 (20060101); G06F
3/0484 (20130101); G06F 3/0482 (20130101); G05B
19/042 (20060101); H04W 4/02 (20090101); H04L
29/08 (20060101); H04W 4/18 (20090101); H04W
4/00 (20090101); H04W 84/12 (20090101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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WO 2011/067454 |
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Jun 2011 |
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WO |
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Primary Examiner: Choi; David
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch &
Birch, LLP
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A method for communicating items representing process control
objects in the form of field devices to a user of a wireless
terminal with a display screen in a computerized process control
system for controlling an industrial process, where each of the
items is a data item that is a reference to other data about a
corresponding, different process control object, the method being
performed in an item communication control unit of an item
communication arrangement and comprising: continuously determining
weights of the items, and displaying the items with the highest
weights to the user via the wireless terminal that fit in the
display screen and in an order defined by the weights of the items,
wherein the weight of an item is determined based on an item
selection pattern of the user and comprises a position weight
factor based on the position of the corresponding process control
object and the position of the user, where the position weight
factor decreases with increasing distance between the process
control object and the user, wherein the weight of said item
reflects a predicted use of the item based on the item selection
pattern of the user, and wherein the pattern is a pattern of usage
over time of the item comprising intervals of frequent use
separated by intervals of infrequent use, and the weight comprises
a first weight factor, the method further comprising predicting if
the use of the item at a current point in time is in the interval
of infrequent use or the interval of frequent use and assigning a
first value to the first weight factor in case the interval is the
interval of infrequent use and a second value in case the interval
is the interval of frequent use, where the second value is higher
than the first value.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the weight comprises a
second weight factor depending on the time since the latest
selection or creation of the item.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the process control
system is provided in different areas and the continuous updating
of at least one weight is halted if an area in which the user is
differs from the area in which the corresponding process control
object is located.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the weight comprises an
alarm weight factor and further comprising obtaining an alarm
indicator about the corresponding process control object and
changing the alarm weight factor based on the value of the alarm
indicator.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the weight comprises a
maintenance weight factor and further comprising obtaining a
maintenance indicator concerning the corresponding process control
object and changing the maintenance weight factor based on the
value of the maintenance indicator.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the weight comprises a
colleague weight factor depending on interest shown in the process
control object by other users.
7. An item communication system for communicating items
representing process control objects in the form of field devices
to a user of a wireless terminal with a display screen in a
computerized process control system for controlling an industrial
process, where each of the items is a data item that is a reference
to other data about a corresponding, different process control
object, the item communication system comprising: an item
communication control unit providing said items representing the
process control objects and configured to continuously determine
weights of the items, and display the items with the highest
weights to the user via the wireless terminal that fit in the
display screen and in an order defined by the weights of the items,
wherein the weight of an item is determined based on an item
selection pattern of the user and comprises a position weight
factor based on the position of the corresponding process control
object and the position of the user, where the position weight
factor decreases with increasing distance between the process
control object and the user, wherein the weight of said item
reflects a predicted use of the item based on the item selection
pattern, and wherein the pattern is a pattern of usage over time of
the item comprising intervals of frequent use separated by
intervals of infrequent use, and the weight comprises a first
weight factor, the an item communication control unit being further
configured to predict if the use of the item at a current point in
time is in the interval of infrequent use or the interval of
frequent use and assigning a first value to the first weight factor
in case the interval is the interval of infrequent use and a second
value in case the interval is the interval of frequent use, where
the second value is higher than the first value.
8. The item communication system according to claim 7, further
comprising a position unit configured to detect the position of the
wireless terminal and provide the position to the searching unit as
user position.
9. The item communication system according to claim 7, wherein the
weight comprises a second weight factor depending on the time since
the latest selection or creation of the item.
10. The item communication system according to claim 7, wherein the
process control system is provided in different areas and the item
communication control unit is configured to halt the continuous
updating of at least one weight if an area in which the user is
differs from the area in which the corresponding process control
object is located.
11. The item communication system according to claim 7, wherein the
weight comprises an alarm weight factor and the item communication
control unit is configured to obtain an alarm indicator about the
corresponding process control object and change the alarm weight
factor based on the value of the alarm indicator.
12. The item communication system according to claim 7, wherein the
weight comprises a maintenance weight factor and the item
communication control unit is configured to obtain a maintenance
indicator concerning the corresponding process control object and
change the maintenance weight factor based on the value of the
maintenance indicator.
13. The item communication system according to claim 7, wherein the
weight comprises a colleague weight factor depending on interest
shown in the process control object by other users.
14. A computer program product for communicating items representing
process control objects in the form of field devices to a user of a
wireless terminal with a display screen in a computerized process
control system for controlling an industrial process, where each of
the items is a data item that is a reference to other data about a
corresponding, different process control object, said computer
program product being provided on a non-transitory data carrier
comprising computer program code configured to cause an item
communication system to, when said computer program code is loaded
into at least one device providing the item communication system,
continuously determine weights of the items, and display the items
with the highest weights to the user via the wireless terminal that
fit in the display screen and in an order defined by the weights of
the items, wherein the weight of an item is determined based on an
item selection pattern of the user and comprises a position weight
factor based on the position of the corresponding process control
object and the position of the user, where the position weight
factor decreases with increasing distance between the process
control object and the user, wherein the weight of said item
reflects a predicted use of the item based on the item selection
pattern of the user, and wherein the pattern is a pattern of usage
over time of the item comprising intervals of frequent use
separated by intervals of infrequent use, and the weight comprises
a first weight factor, the computer program code being further
configured to predict if the use of the item at a current point in
time is in the interval of infrequent use or the interval of
frequent use and assigning a first value to the first weight factor
in case the interval is the interval of infrequent use and a second
value in case the interval is the interval of frequent use, where
the second value is higher than the first value.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to process control systems.
More particularly the present invention relates to a method,
searching arrangement and a computer program product for searching
for process control objects in a process control system.
BACKGROUND
A process control system normally comprises a number of process
control objects involved in the control of the process.
In process control systems there are furthermore maintenance
engineers that are most of the time working on the process floor
close to these process control objects, which is typically far away
from control rooms with work stations and other computers from
which the system is monitored. The maintenance engineers make sure
the process runs as smooth as possible by both preventive and
direct maintenance. They are furthermore nowadays provided with
wireless terminals for assisting them with various tasks in
relation to the process control system.
Plant maintenance engineers working in the process industry
maintain the production by performing scheduled maintenance work
for equipment and repairing equipment that is broken. When
maintenance engineers initiate work according to a work order for a
process control object, they will often work with the specific
object for several days before the maintenance or repairs are
complete. During this maintenance interval the plant maintenance
engineers often need to access properties for the devices they are
working with (for example, real time data, faceplates, and trends).
It is therefore of interest that data about the process control
object is provided to the maintenance engineer in an organized way,
such as via items such as bookmarks in order to give the engineer
quick access to the properties of the process control object during
maintenance.
There are however some problems with such items on wireless
terminals. Large amounts of stored items can be a problem because
of the limited screen size. It can be difficult to find information
if there is too much to choose from. Users furthermore have to
manually remove old unwanted items.
The present invention addresses one or more of the above-mentioned
issues.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the problem of simplifying, for a
user of a process control system, access to items of interest that
represent process control objects in the system.
This object is according to a first aspect of the invention
achieved through a method for communicating items representing
process control objects to a user of a wireless terminal in a
process control system, the method being performed in an item
communication control unit of an item communication arrangement and
comprising: continuously determining weights of the items, and
visually communicating items to the user via the wireless
communication device in an order defined by the weights of the
items, wherein the weight of an item is determined based on an item
selection pattern of the user.
This object is according to a second aspect of the invention
achieved through an item communication arrangement for
communicating items representing process control objects to a user
of a wireless terminal in a process control system, the item
communication arrangement comprising:
an item communication control unit providing said items
representing process control objects and configured to
continuously determine weights of the items, and visually
communicate items to the user via the wireless terminal in an order
defined by the weights of the items, wherein the weight of an item
is determined based on an item selection pattern of the user.
This object is according to a third aspect of the invention solved
through a computer program product for computer program product for
communicating items representing process control objects to a user
of a wireless terminal in a process control system, the computer
program product being provided on a data carrier comprising
computer program code configured to cause an item communication
arrangement to, when the computer program code is loaded into at
least one device providing the item communication arrangement,
continuously determine weights of the items, and visually
communicate items to the user via the wireless terminal in an order
defined by the weights of the items, wherein the weight of an item
is determined based on an item selection pattern of the user.
The present invention has a number of advantages. Items are
visually communicated to the user in an adaptive way. The user may
in this way more easily locate the items he or she is interested
in, which may make maintenance more efficient. The user may thereby
avoid scrolling through long lists in order to obtain the item that
he or she needs. Through the use of weights it is thereby possible
to determine when an item is to fade away from view. Furthermore
the user does not have to make any selections in order to obtain
the view of the items.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will in the following be described with
reference being made to the accompanying drawings, where
FIG. 1 schematically shows a process control system operating an
industrial process together with a wireless terminal associated
with a user,
FIG. 2 schematically shows a block schematic of the wireless
terminal,
FIG. 3 shows a first building of an industrial plant with a number
of rooms, where the wireless terminal is in a first of the
rooms,
FIG. 4 schematically shows a number of process control objects in
the plant together with a user position,
FIG. 5A shows a first view of the display of the wireless terminal
where an item may be created,
FIG. 5B shows a second view of the display of the wireless terminal
where a number of items in a list of items are displayed,
FIG. 6 shows the second view of the display of the wireless
terminal as well as a number of further items of the list that are
not presented,
FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of a number of method steps being
performed in a method for communicating items representing process
control objects, and
FIG. 8 schematically shows a data carrier with computer program
code, in the form of a CD-ROM disc, for performing the steps of the
method.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the following, a detailed description of preferred embodiments
of a method, item communication arrangement and a computer program
product for visually communicating items representing process
control objects in a process control system will be given.
FIG. 1 schematically shows a process control system 10. The process
control system 10 is a computerized process control system for
controlling an industrial process. The process can be any type of
industrial process, such as electrical power generation,
transmission and distribution processes as well as water
purification and distribution processes, oil and gas production and
distribution processes, petrochemical, chemical, pharmaceutical and
food processes, and pulp and paper production processes. These are
just some examples of processes where the system can be applied.
There exist countless other industrial processes. The processes may
also be other types of industrial processes such as the
manufacturing of goods. A process may be monitored through one or
more process monitoring computers, which communicate with a server
handling monitoring and control of the process.
In FIG. 1 the process control system 10 therefore includes a number
of process monitoring computers 12 and 14. These computers may here
also be considered to form operator terminals and are connected to
a first data bus B1. There is also a gateway 16 connected to this
first data bus B1, which gateway 16 is connected to at least one
wireless network WN. To the wireless network WN there is connected
a wireless terminal 32. It should be realized that it is possible
with more wireless terminals in the wireless network WN. However,
only one is shown for simplifying the understanding of the present
invention. The wireless network WN may be a local network, such as
a wireless local area network (WLAN). It may also be a Bluetooth
network, i.e. a network with a number of interconnected Bluetooth
nodes.
There is furthermore a second data bus B2 and between the first and
second data busses B1 and B2 there are connected a server 18
providing control and protection of the process and a database 20
where data relating to control and protection of the process is
stored. Such data relating to control and protection may here
comprise process data such as measurements and control commands,
while data relating to protection may comprise alarm and event data
as well as data on which alarms and events can be generated, such
as measurements made in the process. The database 20 may also
comprises data about the various process control objects in the
system, such as what type of objects they are, the positions they
have and in what locations they are provided, such as in what
building of a plant they are provided, where the process control
system is at least in part provided in this plant. The database 20
may also comprise further data about the objects as well as a
graphical representations of, blueprints, circuit charts and user
manuals associated with the process control objects. There is
furthermore an item communication server 23 connected between the
two buses B1 and B2. The item communication server 23 comprises a
positioning block 21 and an item communication control block 22.
There is also an item archive 19.
To the second data bus B2 there is connected a number of further
devices 24, 26, 28, 30 and 31. These further devices 24, 26, 28, 30
and 31 are field devices, which are devices that are interfaces to
the process being controlled. A field device is typically an
interface via which measurements of the process are made and to
which control commands are given. Because of this the field devices
are furthermore process control objects. There is thus a first,
second, third, fourth and fifth process control object 24, 26, 28,
30 and 31. The first process control object 24 may as an example be
a boiler and the second process control object 26 may as an example
be a motor. A process control object is not limited to being a
field device. It may also be a control computer, such as the server
18, or a controller.
FIG. 2 shows a block schematic of the wireless terminal 32. The
wireless terminal 32 comprises a bus 36 and to this bus there is
connected a display 34, a program memory 39, a processor 40, as
well as a radio communication circuit 42. The radio communication
circuit 42 is furthermore connected to an antenna 44. The radio
communication circuit 42 and antenna 44 are provided for
communication with the wireless network WN.
In the program memory 39 there is provided optional software code
or computer program instructions which when being run by the
processor forms a positioning element 37 and an item communication
control element 38.
FIG. 3 schematically shows one first exemplifying building or
facility 45 of the industrial plant. The building has a number of
rooms. There is here a first room. In the first room there is a
first wireless access point 46 of the wireless network. In this
figure also the first wireless terminal 32 is located in the first
room, which indicates that also a corresponding user is in this
first room. The position of this wireless terminal is here also
termed a user position UP. Next to the first room there is a second
room with a second wireless access point 48. The second room in
turn leads to a third larger room with a third wireless access
point 50. In the third room there is a door leading out of the
first building 45 and outside of the first building there is a
fourth wireless access point 52. The access points 46, 48, 50 and
52 are here furthermore located close to doors leading to or from
the rooms. The first wireless access point 46 is therefore provided
close to a door interconnecting the first and the second rooms, the
second wireless access point 48 is located close to a door
interconnecting the second and the third rooms, the third wireless
access point 50 is provided close to the door leading out of the
first building 45 and the fourth wireless access point 52 is
provided close to the same door at the exterior of the first
building 45. The above described access point positions close to
doors are only exemplary. The invention is thus in no way limited
to these positions. Others may be used.
In the first building 45 there are furthermore a number of process
control objects and one of these is the first process control
object 24, which is provided in the third room. It should be
realized that there may be several more process control objects in
the first building 45. However, only this first process control
object 24 is shown in order to be used for demonstrating the
principles of the invention.
Furthermore the positions of the wireless access points 46, 48 and
50 and 52 are typically known and because of this also the
positions of the wireless terminals and consequently the users may
be known.
The process control system may be provided in several buildings.
One example of a building is thus given in FIG. 3. A building is
one example of an area in which a part of the process control
system may be provided. The process control system may thus be
provided in different areas. Or differently put, the process
control objects of the process control system may be provided in
different areas, where an area may be or comprise a building.
FIG. 4 schematically shows the first building 45 together with a
second and third building 54 and 56. In these buildings the process
control objects 24, 26, 28, 30 and 31 of FIG. 1 are also provided.
In the first building 45 the position of the first process control
object 24 is schematically indicated. Furthermore, the second and
third process control objects 26 and 28 are indicated as being
provided in the second building 54, while the fourth and fifth
process control objects are indicated as being provided in the
third building 56. Also the user position UP is indicated in the
first building 45. As can be seen the user position UP is in the
same building as the first process control object 24, but in a
different building than the second, third fourth and fifth process
control objects 26, 28, 30 and 31. Furthermore, the user position
UP is shown as being on a distance d from the first process control
object 24.
Aspects of the invention will now be described with reference also
being made to FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6, where FIG. 5A shows a first view
of the display of a wireless terminal where an item may be created,
FIG. 5B shows a second view of the display of the wireless terminal
32 where a number of items in a list of items are displayed and
FIG. 6 shows the second view of the display 34 of the wireless
terminal 32 as well as a number of further items of the list that
are not presented.
Some aspects of the invention are directed towards an item
communication arrangement comprising an item communication control
unit and an optional positioning unit.
In some embodiments of the invention the positioning element 37 of
the wireless terminal 32 forms a positioning unit. In other
embodiments the positioning block 21 of the item communication
server 23 forms a positioning unit.
In some embodiments the item communication control element 38 of
the wireless terminal 32 forms an item communication control unit.
In other embodiments of the invention, the item communication
control block 22 of the item communication server 23 forms an item
communication control unit.
The item communication control unit will furthermore typically
access a database in the process control system, for instance
database 20, in order to locate data about items for being visually
communicated to a user of the wireless terminal.
The item communication control unit may furthermore have access to
the item archive 19 in the item communication server 23.
It should also be realized that an item communication arrangement
may be provided through any combination of the above-mentioned item
communication control unit with positioning unit. The item
communication arrangement may thus be provided through the item
communication control element and positioning element of the
wireless terminal, through the item communication control element
of the wireless terminal and the positioning block of the searching
server, through the positioning element of the wireless terminal
and the item communication control block of the item communication
server or through the positioning block and the item communication
control block of the item communication server.
In the following an example of the invention will be described
where the item communication control arrangement is provided
through the wireless terminal of a user. The positioning element of
this wireless terminal is therefore a positioning unit and the item
communication control element of the terminal an item communication
control unit.
Today most users of process automation software are using
traditional desktop computers when interacting with the process
control system. These stationary computers can be located in
different locations, for example in a control room or as terminals
placed on the factory floor for quick access to the control system.
With the prevalence of powerful wireless terminals it is now
possible to interact with the process control system wherever a
user is located. The most common way of accessing the control
system today is by utilizing some form of remote desktop
solution.
Factories and plants include a large amount of process control
objects. These process control objects may need to be checked from
time to time, for instance in order to give maintenance or service.
For instance, the number of boilers can be tens or hundreds. These
may need to be inspected from time to time, for instance in order
to perform maintenance.
A user, who may be a plant maintenance engineer working in the
process industry, may then maintain the production provided by the
process control system by performing scheduled maintenance work for
process control objects and repairing a process control object that
is broken. When the user initiates work according to a work order
for a process control object he or she will often work with the
specific process control object for several days before the
maintenance or repairs are complete. During this maintenance
interval the user often needs to access properties for the process
control objects he or she is working with (for example, real time
data, faceplates, and trends). It would then be advantageous to let
the user use some form of item based functionality such as
bookmarking, highlighting, liking and +1 functionality to get quick
access to the properties of the process control object during
maintenance.
Some problems have been identified with such items on wireless
terminals: Large amounts of stored items can be a problem because
of the limited screen size on the wireless terminal. It can be
difficult to find information if there is too much to choose from.
Users have to manually remove old unwanted items.
The invention describes a way to use a form of
bookmarking/highlighting/like/+1 functionality in the form of items
where a number of different factors are used to set a degree of
relevance of the items for the user. This is then used for helping
the user in locating the items he or she is interested in.
A user that wants to inspect a process control object may then
bring his or her wireless terminal out in the plant. At such an
inspection, the user may furthermore want to obtain details of the
various process control objects, such as to obtain process graphics
of the objects as well as real time data from the object, i.e. data
measured by the process control object and reported to the control
server 18. Such real time data and process graphics may then be
provided together in a so-called face plate and visually
communicated to the user via the display of the wireless terminal.
However, as there are many process control objects the user may
need a tool in which reference to the object and data related to it
can be easily accessed later on, such as through the use of an item
representing the process control object, where one way to implement
an item is through providing a bookmark.
The item communication control element 38 may more particularly
provide an application via which process control objects may be
located, such as for instance via a search in a database, such as
database 20, and presented to the user. An image O of a process
control object, such as the first process control object, having
been located by the user and being displayed on the display 34 of
the wireless terminal 32 is schematically shown in FIG. 5a, where
the image O of a process control object, here the boiler, is
presented via the display by the item connection control element
38. In this view the communication control element 38 provides a
first button 58 via which the user may select to view the
previously mentioned face plate as well as provides a second button
60 via which the user may create an item, such as a bookmark. An
item may furthermore be provided as or accompanied by some sort of
graphical symbol, such as an icon. Once an item is created, i.e.
once a reference to other data about the process control object is
created, the item will appear in an item list with similar items
associated with other process control objects. In FIG. 5B there is
shown a part of such a list being displayed on the screen 34 of the
wireless terminal 32 by the item communication control element 38.
In this view there is a first item I1 associated with the first
process control object as well as a second, third, fourth and fifth
item I2, I3, I4 and I5 associated with other process control
objects.
With each process control object there may thus be associated a
presentation item such as a bookmark. These items may be created by
several different users of the process control system.
In a process control system the number of process control objects
may be great. The use of items greatly simplifies the obtaining of
information about the process control objects. However as there are
so many process control objects, also the number of items may be
great. A user, like a plant maintenance engineer, may then want to
have access to the items that are most relevant to him or here.
This is especially important because the screen size of the
wireless terminals is normally limited.
There is therefore a need for visually communicating the items, for
instance in the form of bookmarks, to the user. The visual
communication may be taking place using an application dedicated to
the process control objects of the process control system, which
application may be a browser application. The problem can be
understood through studying FIG. 6, which also shows the display 34
of the wireless terminal 32 and the items of a list of items that
are visible to the user, in this example the previously mentioned
items I1-I5. However, as is indicated in the figure there are a
number of further items I6-I10 that cannot be seen on the display.
There is therefore a need to make a selection of which items that
are to be visually communicated or displayed and with advantage a
selection that results in the display of items that the user is
likely to want to select.
The invention is provided for addressing this problem.
In this a number of different inputs may be used for selecting the
items that are deemed to be of interest to the user and that are
therefore to be visually communicated, where one type of input is
the various item selections that the user makes for instance via
the above-mentioned application.
The wireless terminals available today are equipped with a lot of
different sensors, such as Global Positioning System (GPS),
Bluetooth, and Near Field Communication (NFC). Using these sensors
as well as other communication systems it is possible to detect the
position of the wireless terminal in a number of ways. If the
process control system is also aware of the physical position of
process control objects then it is possible to determine the
distance between the process control object and the wireless
terminal, i.e. the distance between the process control object and
the user position UP. This is a feature that can also be used with
advantage in selecting items to be presented.
The invention is provided for addressing at least some of these
issues. How this may be done will now also be described with
reference being made to FIG. 7, which shows a flow chart of a
number of method steps being performed in a method for
communicating items representing process control objects and being
performed by the item communication control element 38.
A user in the plant, such as the above mentioned plant maintenance
engineer, who carries the wireless terminal 32, may have the items
I1-I5 shown in FIG. 5B being displayed on the display 34 by the
item communication control element 38. The items shown are items in
an item list, where the items shown or displayed are furthermore
the items that the item communication control element 38 calculates
to be most relevant for the user. Each item represents a
corresponding process control object. A user may then select an
item in the list and thereby obtain further data about a certain
process control object, such as a face plate, a circuit diagram or
a user manual of the process control object. The user may thus need
to access an item for obtaining data about a process control object
in the process control system. In order to allow the user to select
an item, the items of the list may be visually communicated via the
display 34 of the wireless terminal 32. However, as the display
size may be limited the number of items that are simultaneously
visually communicated to the user may also be limited, as is
readily seen in FIG. 6.
In order to enable for the user to obtain data of a desired process
control object in a faster and more efficient way, it is
advantageous if the user does not have to scroll the list in order
to locate and access the corresponding item. It is thus of
importance that the items associated with process control objects
that are the most relevant to the user are visually communicated.
The present invention is provided for addressing this
situation.
In order to determine the items that are most relevant to the user
to be displayed, the item communication control element 38 uses
weights, where there is one weight for every item. The items are
then provided in the list in an order defined by the weights. If
the weights have been properly defined this will lead to the most
relevant items being displayed first. These weights are
continuously updated. As the weights are continually updated the
order of the items in the list will also change as the weights
change. However, in order to update the weights the item
communication control element 38 needs to receive data.
In operation, the item communication control element 38 thus
receives data used for updating weights. The data it obtains
comprises user input data and more particularly user input data
involving a creation of an item, and the time t0 of such creation
or selection. It also obtains position data of the wireless
terminal 32. The above mentioned data is continuously received.
Depending on if some specific event occurs, it may also obtain
event data, such as an alarm indicator A for a certain process
control object or a maintenance indicator M for a specific process
control object.
In order to perform the update of the weights, the item
communication control element 38 thus obtains the user position UP,
step 62, i.e. the position of the user in the process control
system. The user position may be obtained in a number of different
ways.
The user may manually enter the position via a user input unit that
may be keypad. In this example it is a part of the display 34,
which display is thereby a touch screen.
However it is also possible that the position is detected. The
obtained user position UP may thus be an automatically detected
position of the wireless terminal of the user. The position may be
detected in a number of ways.
The positioning element 37 may detect the position via the wireless
network WN. The position of the wireless terminal 32 may more
particularly be obtained through knowledge of which wireless access
point 46, 48, 50 and 52 the wireless terminal 32 is in contact
with. The signal strength of the communication between the wireless
terminal and access point may be used to determine the distance
between the wireless terminal 32 and the access point, which gives
a radius around the access point at which the wireless terminal may
be located. This together with knowledge of the layout of the
premises, such as where walls, floors and ceilings are provided,
may be used for estimating the position. Furthermore, if a wireless
terminal is in contact with more access points, then triangulation
may be used. Here the points of intersection of the radiuses of two
or three access points may be used for determining the position.
Also this may be combined with knowledge of the layout of the
premises in order to determine the position of the wireless
terminal. In some instances it is also possible to use Global
Positioning System (GPS).
The position may thus be detected by the positioning element 37 and
then reported or provided to the item presentation control element
38 as a user position UP. The item presentation control element 38
thereby obtains the user position UP. Alternatively, the position
may be detected by the positioning block and reported to the item
communication control element 38.
Thereafter the item communication control element 38 obtains any
user item selections, step 64. If the user has made any item
selection, this may thus be detected. The item selection made by
the user may be obtained through registering item selections that
the user makes in the list of items. As mentioned earlier, the list
may be scrollable in which case further items, such as the sixth
and seventh items I6 and I7 shown in FIG. 6 may be shown and
selected. The selections as well as the time of the selections are
then registered by the item communication control element 38 and
stored in an item selection memory (not shown) provided together
with the item communication control element 38. It should here be
realized that in the course of one run through the steps shown in
FIG. 7, it is possible that no item is selected and if there is a
selection may then typically only involve one item.
The item selections are in this case made via the user input unit,
which in this example was a touch screen. Optionally, the item
communication control element 38 also obtains possible event
indicators, step 66. An event indicator may be an alarm indicator A
generated by the control and protection server 18, which is
conveyed to the item communication control block 22, which in turn
informs the item communication control element 38. An alarm
indicator A may also be obtained from the database 20 An event
indicator may also be a maintenance indicator M, which may be
obtained via a work order sent to the wireless terminal 32. The
maintenance indicator may also be obtained by the item
communication control block 21, which then reports it to the item
communication control element 38.
Thereafter the weights are updated by the item communication
control unit, step 68.
The item communication control element 38 may provide a weighting
function W for every item, which function may have the form
W=w1+w2+w3 - - - +w(n-1)+wn (1) where w is a weight factor used for
forming a total weight W.
There may exist a weight function W for every item in the list.
Each item I1-I10 shown in FIG. 6 may thus have an own total weight
W based on a number of weight factors.
The weight W may thus be made up of n weight factors, where
n.gtoreq.1.
According to aspects of the invention the weight of an item is
determined based on an item selection pattern of the user. This is
thus a pattern by which the user selects the item. It can for this
reason also be considered to be an item selection pattern of the
user. For this reason the weight W may be made up of one or more
use dependent weight factors. The item selection pattern can be
reflected in one or more of the above mentioned weight factors. In
order to do this the item communication control element 38
considers the user selections and the time of these user selections
in the providing of at least one of the weight factors.
A first of these weight factors w1, which considers the user
selections is a pattern weight factor and also a use dependent
weight factor. This first weight factor w1 depends on a usage
pattern associated with the item, which usage pattern is a pattern
of the item usage over time. This pattern may comprise intervals of
frequent use separated by intervals of infrequent use.
The first weight factor w1 may have a first value J1 for the
interval of infrequent use and a second value J2 for the interval
of frequent use, where the second value J2 may be higher than the
first value. In order to set the pattern weight factor, the item
communication control element 38 may predict the use of the item at
a current point in time and may more particularly predict if the
current point in time is in an interval of infrequent use or an
interval of frequent use and provide the first weight factor w1
with the value of the interval of the prediction, i.e. with the
first or the second value J1 or J2.
If for instance the use of an item, such as the first item I1, has
the pattern where there is a first time interval of infrequent use
of length L1, in which the frequency f is lower than a first
frequency threshold and a second interval of more frequent use of
length L2, in which the frequency f is higher than a second
frequency threshold, where the first frequency threshold is lower
than the second frequency threshold and the time intervals are set
to recur at a cycle or period T, then it is possible to predict,
based on the length and periods of previous time intervals, when
the intervals will be repeated. It is then possible to assign the
first value J1 to the first weight factor w1 if the first interval
is predicted to occur and the second value J2 to the first weight
w1 if the second interval is predicted to occur.
The first weight factor w1 may thus be set as w1=J1 or J2 (2) based
on which interval is predicted to be presently in force.
This may be of advantage if the user has a number of different
maintenance rounds being regularly walked in which the items of the
process control objects being passed in a round would historically
be selected more frequently during the round than other process
control object being passed in other maintenance rounds.
The item selection control element 38 may also set a second use
dependent weight factor w2 having a dependency on the number of
times the item is selected as well as on the time since the latest
selection.
The second weight factor w2 may thus be a factor that is dependent
on the frequency of use of the item. As an example it may have the
form of w2=k/(1+(t-t0)) (3) where k is a constant, t is the current
time and t0 is the time of creation or latest use of the item. This
is just one example of a function of the second weight factor w2.
It is for instance possible to use an exponential function instead,
such as e.sup.-k(t-t0).
The provision of the first and second weight factors may
furthermore be combined. It is in this regard possible that the
first weight factor w1 is not initially used, but that the second
weight factor w2 is the only use-dependent weight factor that is
initially used. This may continue up until enough data has been
collected to be used for determining use patterns for the first
weight factor. Thereafter it is possible that only the first weight
factor w1 is used when there are usage patterns. If then patterns
cease to exist or if they become unreliable it is possible to
return and only use the second weight factor w2.
It is also possible to only provide one of the use dependent weight
factors, either the first or the second.
A third weight factor w3 may be a position based weight factor,
i.e. a weight factor that is based on the position of the
corresponding process control object and the position of the user
in the process control system. In short the position weight factor
may be dependent on the distance d between the process control
object and the user. This is exemplified in FIG. 4 by the distance
d between the user position UP and the first process control object
24. The third weight factor w3 may for instance be inversely
proportional to the distance d between the process control object
and the user.
The third weight factor w3 may as an example be set as w3=i/(1+d)
(4) where i is a constant and d is the distance between the user
position and the process control object. The relationship between
weight and position may also here be exponential instead.
A weight factor may also be dependent on events in the process
control system, such as alarms.
A fourth weight factor w4 may therefore be an alarm based weight
factor that is changed based on the reception by the item
communication control element 38 of an alarm indicator or alarm
information related to the process control object.
This means that the communication control element in this case
receives alarm information about the process control object
associated with the item and changes the alarm based weight factor
w4 based on this alarm indicator.
The fourth weight factor w4 may for instance be set according to
w4=h*A (5) where h is a constant and A is a binary signal
representing the presence or absence of an alarm.
Another event dependent weight factor is a maintenance weight
factor, which is a fifth weight factor w5.
The fifth weight factor w5 may be set as w5=g*M (6) where g is a
constant and M is a maintenance ongoing indicator.
The indicator M may here be set based on an electronic work order.
The wireless terminal 32 may receive a work order, for instance in
the form of an electronic file with indications of which process
control objects that are to receive maintenance in a maintenance
round. The item communication control element 38 may then be
informed of the process control objects for which maintenance is to
be carried out based on such a work order. It may also itself
inspect the work order and extract data of the process control
objects that are to be serviced. The process control objects which
are indicated as needing to receive maintenance in the work order
may then receive an indicator value M=1, leading to the
corresponding weight w5 to be set through the indicator being set
to M=1. When the work order is returned by the user, or after
maintenance being completed on a specific process control object,
the indicator may be set to M=0. The item communication control
element 38 may thus detect a setting in the work order by the user
indicating that maintenance of one or more process control objects
is finished and thereby set the indicator M to a low value. It may
also set the indicator M to a low value by detecting the sending of
the work order from the wireless terminal to the process control
system,
The maintenance indicator M may also be set M=1 in dependence on
the reception of a maintenance start signal and may be set M=0 in
dependence of the reception of a maintenance end signal, and thus
the value of the weight w5 may be increased if a maintenance start
signal is received and decreased if a maintenance end signal is
received.
The above mentioned weight factors may, perhaps with the exception
of the fourth weight factor, all have a dependency on the user of
the wireless terminal. However, it is possible that items are
weighted also based on activities of other users.
There may therefore exist a sixth weight factor w6 that depends on
other users, such as other maintenance engineers. The sixth weight
factor may therefore be considered to be a colleague weight factor.
This means that it is possible that if an item has been accessed by
one or more other users, or the other user(s) has/have in some
other way shown interest in the process control object in question,
then this weight factor may be set. Thus a record of previous
access to a process control object, or to its data, or historical
data, or maintenance record by another user may be used to
calculate a measure of interest shown by the colleague(s) in
respect of any particular process control object or item.
When the weight factor considers other users, then the weight
factor may be set based on the frequency of use of item by the
other user(s). The weight factor may also be binary, where if one
or more other users have indicated an interest in the process
control object, then the weigh factor receives a corresponding
value. These two ways can also be combined in that the sixth weight
factor may have a first part that varies with the frequency of item
use and a second part which is binary and only has a value based on
interest indications.
There are different ways in which it is possible to determine that
there is an indication of interest. It is possible that the other
user uses a short range communication unit, like an NFC unit, of
his wireless terminal for identifying the process control object on
site. Such an attempted identification may then be detected and
stored for the process control object and linked to the item,
either by the process control object itself or by the wireless
terminal of the other user as an indication of interest. Another
variation is that the other user has a work order concerning
maintenance of the process control object. If then the other user
passes close by the process control object, then an indication may
be generated. In the latter case an interest indication is
generated through detecting that the other user is close to the
process control object and has received a work order for
maintenance of the same object. It is thus possible that the sixth
weight factor depends on a detected or predicted local interaction
with the process control object by one or more other users, such as
local interaction at the location of the process control
object.
It is here possible that the sixth weight is only used for users of
the same type, such as only maintenance engineers. It is also
possible that there is another restriction, such as maintenance
engineers responsible for a certain area of the process control
system.
The sixth weight factor may furthermore be related to the third
weight factor. The sixth weight factor may for instance only start
to be used if the user is in proximity of the process control
object. If for instance the third weight factor exceeds a threshold
corresponding to the user being close to the process control
object, then also the sixth weight factor may be started to be used
for determining the weight. Such a dependency of the sixth weight
factor on the distance between the user and the process control
object may also take place without the use of the third weight
factor. The sixth weight factor may thus be used without the third
weight factor, but only if the user is close to the process control
object.
The total weight W may then, as is indicated above, be obtained as
a combination of all the weight factors, for instance as a sum of
all weight factors. The weight W may also be a product of the
factors determined based on continuous data, such as the first
second and third weight factors, to which event based weight
factors are added, such as the fourth and fifth weight factors.
When the total weights W have been determined for all items, the
item communication control element 38 visually communicates the
items to the user in an order that is set according to the updated
item weights, step 70. The steps 62-70 in the method may thereafter
be repeated and this repeating may be performed as long as the user
uses the application or as long as the wireless terminal is turned
on.
The visual communication may then involve only displaying the items
with the highest weights that fit in the display screen, as
depicted in FIG. 6, where only the five items I1-I5 with the
highest weights are being visually communicated. Here the items
I6-I10 all have lower weights and are thus not being displayed.
In this way it is possible to visually communicate the items to the
user in an adaptive way. The user may in this way more easily
locate the items he or she is interested in, which may make
maintenance more efficient. The user may thereby avoid scrolling
through long lists in order to obtain the item that he or she
needs. Through the use of weights it is thereby possible to
determine when an item is to fade away from the screen. In this way
only those items that may be of interest to the user are displayed.
Furthermore the user does not have to make any selections.
Further advantages include: Older previously used items will get a
reduced weight, meaning they will no longer appear in the top of
the list. The clutter of the screen is reduced. The small displays
on the wireless terminal should be used to display relevant
information, not outdated information. The invention therefore
provides a better user experience.
In the visually communicated list of item, the user may then select
an item and when that is done further data may be obtained such as
a face plate, an image of the object or other data, such as user
manuals, blue prints, circuit diagrams etc.
There are a number of variations that are possible to make of this
determination of weights for the items.
As the process control system is provided in different areas,
exemplified by the first, second and third buildings in FIG. 4,
this aspect can be considered in the updating. The continuous
updating of at least one weight may be halted for an item if the
area in which the user is located differs from the area in which
the corresponding process control object is located, which can be
exemplified by the situation depicted in FIG. 4. Here the
determination of some or all of the weight factors for the items
representing the second, third, fourth and fifth process control
objects 26, 28, 30 and 31 may be halted or frozen, since the user
is in the first building 45 and these process control objects are
in the second and third buildings 54 and 56. However, the
determination of the weights may continue for the items
representing process control objects in the first building, i.e.
for the first process control object 24.
The above-mentioned alarm weight may also be position dependent in
that the alarm indicator or the alarm weight factor may only be
used if the user is in the same area, here building, as the process
control object for which an alarm is generated. The same principle
may also be applied to the maintenance weight factor.
It is furthermore possible that the weights are compared with a
removal threshold which may be set to reflect the item age, the
size of the item list etc. If a weight falls below this removal
threshold, the item may be deleted.
As items are phased out it does not have mean that the item need to
be automatically be deleted forever. One solution is to archive
them instead of deleting them.
It is also possible that the weights are compared with an archiving
threshold. An item, the weight of which falls below the archiving
threshold may then be stored in the item archive 19. These two
variations are implied in FIG. 6. Here the sixth and the seventh
items I6 and I7 are above such thresholds but do not have high
enough weights be presented. However, they still remain in the list
of items. The eighth, ninth and tenth items I8, I9 and I10 are on
the other hand below such a threshold, a removal or an archiving
threshold, and will therefore be removed and deleted or stored in
the item archive 19 by the item communication control element
38.
Through the use of such threshold it is possible to determine when
an item is to fade away from the list. If the user is no long using
the item it can be silently removed from the list and instead
archived or deleted.
The removal or archiving provides further advantages:
The item list will eventually phase out old items in order to only
keep the most relevant items in the list. Thereby the item list
will not be filled with old outdated items that have become
outdated; only recently added or selected items may be visible.
This also reduces cognitive load of the users. The users do not
manually have to remove old items they are no longer working
with.
If the item communication control block acts as item communication
control unit, it may obtain the user position for the positioning
unit and the user items selections from the item communication
control element.
It may also obtain the indications from the process control system,
an then provide the item communication control element at least
with data indicating the order in which the items are to be
visually communicated.
The positioning unit and item communication control unit may be
provided in the form of one or more processors together with
computer program memory including computer program code for
performing their functions. As an alternative they may be provided
in the form of one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits
(ASIC) or Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). This computer
program code may also be provided on one or more data carriers
which perform the functionality of the present invention when the
program code thereon is being loaded into one or more devices
implementing the searching arrangement, such as the searching
server and/or the wireless terminal. One such data carrier 71 with
computer program code 72, in the form of a CD ROM disc, is
schematically shown in FIG. 8. Such computer program may as an
alternative be provided on another server and downloaded therefrom
into the searching server and/or the mobile terminal.
The invention can be varied in many more ways than the ones already
mentioned. It is also possible that the application allows searches
to be made about process control objects, for instance searches
according to type of process control object. A user may for
instance want to locate boilers. The search results may then be
provided in an order set according to the weights of the items.
It is also possible that the wireless terminal detects the
identities of objects passed by the wireless terminal. The
detection may be done using a suitable short range communication
unit employing a short range communication technique such as NFC,
bar code reading or Bluetooth. This may also be used when
determining the distance between process control objects and user
as well as for indicating that maintenance is started and
ended.
It should therefore be realized that the present invention is only
to be limited by the following claims.
* * * * *